


It Is Only The Beginning

by Ode2Vin



Series: A Story Retold [2]
Category: Psych
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-23 23:37:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14943470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ode2Vin/pseuds/Ode2Vin
Summary: Shawn’s secret is out...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Vindicata created a beautiful world when they made Yesterday Was Hard On All Of Us. Originally I wanted to finish the story simply for myself, but as I dove into possibilities it became something more. This will be a series that will encompass a retelling of their wonderful work in addition to adding previously unseen scenes. This version is currently not finished, and I’m predicting it will be complete by the end of the year.
> 
> All original characters and storyline are accredited to Vindicata, http://www.psychfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=3851&warning=4
> 
> Rather than leaving me Kudos, you should go tell them how much you love their work in a review on their original story!

  
< **_2012 Santa Barbara, CA_** >

  
“Okay. Okay, this is what we are going to do!” Shawn told his best friend as the two of them ran their way between shipping crates in a large warehouse by the docks.

  
Shawn had followed a hunch, that proved to be true, and discovered that the bad guy was in fact in possession of a bomb. The bad news was that the explosive definitely wasn’t in the warehouse any more. Meaning the bomber had already placed it in a crowded location, surely. And the worst news was that he had also spotted the two talking over possible locations while standing over the empty crate.

  
“This path leaves to the side of the building where you parked the blueberry. You call Jules, tell her I need back up. I’ll keep the B52 distracted.” Shawn finished his thought as they neared an outer wall. The man’s steps echoed behind them.

  
“What!? I can’t leave you Shawn!?” Gus protested.

  
“Dude I’ll be fine, the bombs not even in here, right, but he definitely has a way to remote detonate it, so we can’t let him think about it long enough for him to realize chasing us is a waste of time. Now go!” Shawn said the last bit with a slight shove in the direction of the doors as he doubled his efforts and put even more distance between himself and the man chasing them.

  
Just to ensure the guy didn’t get any ideas about following Gus, Shawn started yelling Bugs Bunny quotes and making the Road Runner ‘beep, beep’ noises. It worked the man was catching up with him.

  
Shawn doubled back down a row of crates, forcing the perp to follow. By then, the two had circled the entire building completely and Shawn now knew what path to take that would prevent him from running into any dead ends on the next lap through. It had been years since Shawn had taken his five mile jogging routine seriously, but at that moment he was wondering just how long he’d be able to keep up the game of cat and mouse.

  
And then he heard it, or rather he _didn’t_ hear it. The sound of the man’s boots behind him.

  
Shawn spun on his heels to see the guy clutching a stitch in his side and taking out his cell phone. Of course. The remote detonator, that was probably an app you can download for free these days… In an instant Shawn closed the distance between them demanding the other man freeze.

  
The crazed bomber didn’t heed the warning and started to input something in his phone instead. Shawn sighed. No one else had entered the building yet, he had no choice, he reached behind his back to his concealed holster and pulled his own weapon on a perpetrator for the first time in eight years.

  
“I said freeze. Put the phone down, hands up.” Shawn yelled in a commanding tone. It was a voice he so rarely used, even when he was on the job, as he had spent the majority of his time undercover and simply waving a gun around and demanding cooperation would have gotten him killed.

  
The command was enough however for the other man to look up. He smirked.

  
“Just three more numbers and the mall will be nothing but dust, along with all the shoppers!” The bomber cackled out maniacally.

  
“I will shoot!” Shawn threatened back. Maybe he could keep the guy talking. Was that the sound of sirens? Finally.

  
“Even so,” the bomber tapped the screen dramatically, “the mall,” he tapped again “will be— ”

  
_BANG_.

 

One shot flew through the air. It nailed it’s target; the top of the cell phone. The impact was enough to knock the device from the man’s hand, not to mention put a hole through the thing, rendering it useless.

  
Before Shawn could order the stunned but otherwise perfectly fine guy to the ground, a booming voice rang out.

  
“Put down the weapon!” Carlton Lassiter ordered and when Shawn glanced in the direction of not only the head detective, but also Juliet and Gus, he was somewhat surprised to see that Lassie had drawn his own weapon during his jog to catch up, and now the Glock 17 was trained on Shawn himself.

  
Just wonderful.

  
“Spencer!” Lassiter warned again.

  
Shawn obliged but asked Juliet to arrest the actual bad guy. He also informed her of the bombs location and was relieved to see that Carleton holstered his weapon as he radioed in the 10-79 at the mall with an alarmed look. He also called for back up to their location, asking for two black and whites for the assailants. Plural.

  
During the commotion, the bomber made several incriminating threats while Juliet cuffed him, and Gus was still staring at Shawn with his mouth hanging open and eyes threatening to bulge out of his head.

  
“G— Gun?” Gus managed eventually.

  
“We’d all like to know about that, but you’ll have time to explain down at the station.” Lassiter informed them as he bagged Shawn’s weapon for evidence . And then he proceeded to take great pleasure in reading Shawn his rights.

  
Buzz McNab was one of the two officers who responded to the call. He was completely flabbergasted when he arrived to see the psychic sitting on the pavement outside of the warehouse with his hands cuffed together in front of him. Lassiter and O’Hara flanked the bomber. And Gus stood off to the side looking ashen-faced.

  
Shawn was annoyed by how long he had to sit in the back of the squad car while the crime scene was explained before McNab finally drove him in. Lassiter’s car led the way and Juliet rode in the passenger side of the other squad car, with the blueberry taking up the rear.

  
“Detective Lassiter told me not to say a word to you, but I know you’re innocent, don’t worry! An ADW, I’m sure it was justified, and it’s not like you own the gun, right!?” McNab told Shawn confidently.

  
Shawn didn’t have the heart to tell the officer otherwise.

 

* * *

 

  
Shawn was placed quickly and sufficiently in an interrogation room without too much of the station noticing. He sat there patiently, still cuffed, wishing he could speak with Jules, if only to assure his girlfriend that everything will work out in the end. As a member of the LAPD, he was certainly licensed to carry, and acted well within his rights in the situation. But Juliet seemed so out of it at the crime scene, blindly following Lassiter’s instructions, she was obviously worried. She had no idea what would be happening to him.

  
Despite the quiet entrance, something Carleton previously didn’t think the pseudo psychic was capable of, someone at the station must have seen that Shawn was cuffed, because exactly ten minutes after the suspects were brought in, Henry Spencer barged through the front doors demanding to see Karen Vick.

  
It took another ten minutes for Karen to reassure Henry that she wasn’t aware of his son’s arrest and the pair took off, together, down the hall to the interrogation rooms. Gus and Juliet were in one, writing their statements, Lassiter was in another, getting information from their bomber, and Shawn sat by himself in the third one with Officer McNab, oddly enough, standing guard over the door in the hall. A call came through the radio informing Karen that the bomb had been located and disarmed. One crisis adverted. On to the next.

  
She took a deep breath and asked Henry to let her speak with Shawn alone first, knowing full well that he would most certainly listen in through the observational room. The elder Spencer still put up a fight, regardless.

  
Henry was begrudged to admit that he did in fact have to back down to the Chief’s orders. Only accepting that riling her up any further could potentially have a negative impact on his son had stopped him from continuing to argue. That didn’t prevent him peering in on their conversation through the one- way window, however.

  
“Shawn.” Karen addressed Henry’s son quite informally. “Care to explain what happened? What’s the charge?”

  
“Assault with a deadly weapon.” Shawn replied somberly, all of his usual antics forgotten. “I’m sorry, Karen.” He added genuinely.

  
Shawn then explained the entire situation. To Henry everything sounded right and by the book, except, _except_ for the fact that Shawn was carrying a concealed weapon. When did his son start doing that? Was it after that frightening incident a few years ago when he had taken a bullet to the shoulder and was kidnapped? That was…

  
Not something Henry liked to think about. But Shawn didn’t have a proper detective license, it wasn’t required, for some ungodly reason, for psychic detectives, even if they were fake psychics. And wasn’t that something? Henry was sure that was going to be the reason Shawn was currently sitting in interview room C. He would have placed money that someone had finally found out about his son’s big secret. Honestly, an ADW would probably be a worse charge, depending on how lenient the chief was willing to be over finding out Shawn’s methods are much less spirit induced than she was led to believe. It actually meant the results were based more on real facts, which ultimately would be a good thing. But it also meant that Shawn had hindered and withheld information on countless investigations. Gus and even he, Henry, himself, were coconspirators on that particular crime, so it was fortunate for them, at least, that Shawn’s only charge was an ADW.

  
Karen hummed to herself thoughtfully. “Did you declare yourself to the perp when you engaged and attempted to disarm him?”

  
“No.” Shawn admitted. “I didn’t have proper ID, he wouldn’t have believed me as he recognized me as the ‘annoying psychic’,” Shawn laughed darkly.

  
“Okay.” The chief accepted the answer easily. Henry was still trying to wrap his brain around the way his son was being so flippant, almost sarcastically referring to himself as psychic, surely Karen would pick up on that.

  
“Well, I’ll be honest,” Karen said a bit somberly herself. “I didn’t expect this to last as long as it has, I’ll call Nick and we’ll of course drop the charges, but I think it’s time you come clean.” Her eyes darted to the one way window where Henry was standing with his arms folded.

  
So she did know!? How long has she known his son wasn’t a psychic? Henry wondered a bit in shock at the admission.

  
“Here. You’ll need my lock box.” Shawn volunteered as he stood and awkwardly dug into one of his jean pockets for keys while still cuffed.

  
“I’ll send Carleton in to take those off.” Karen assured as she eyed the silver metal biting into Shawn’s wrists.

  
Shawn didn’t acknowledge that statement, instead he gave Karen instructions on where she would find the locked box in question.

  
“McNab can pick it up?” The chief offered and was pleased to see that Shawn was excepting of that.

  
With one last sympathetic glance over her shoulder, Karen was gone from the room.

  
“You can come yell at me now dad.” Shawn bit out the words, reluctantly.

  
Henry was entering the interview room before his son had finished the sentence.

  
“An ADW, what were you thinking?” He started as soon as he saw Shawn. “That’s right, you weren’t, were you? You never think about the consequences of your actions, do you?”

  
Before Shawn could even reply, Carleton entered the room and eyed the older Spencer warily. “Chief ordered me to remove the cuffs.” He announced with his presence. “You’ll remain cooperative?”

  
Shawn didn’t bother answering either of them and simply held out his hands.

  
“Where did you even get the gun?” Henry changed his line of questioning. “I know you can shoot, but you hate that stuff, refusing to go to the range with me...” Shawn’s lips quirked a bit at that.

  
Lassiter seemed interested in that as well. But surprisingly, Shawn didn’t answer. Lassiter then tried playing the bad cop, which made two bad cops interrogating him as Henry was reluctant to take the good guy role.

  
When that didn’t work, the head detective switched tactics yet again and informed Shawn that the perp admitted to everything and would be going away for a long time and even begrudgingly thanked Shawn for his part in preventing the massacre down at the mall. Unfortunately, offering up the good in the situation didn’t do anything to loosen Shawn’s tongue either.

  
“Look.” Shawn said twenty minutes later when both the current and former detectives in front of him were becoming visibly irate with his lack of cooperation. “I’ll explain everything in the Chief’s office soon. But I’d rather not have to repeat myself, and frankly I doubt either of you would believe me. Not believing me, sort of got me in this situation to begin with Lassie… in a roundabout way.” Shawn added weakly.

  
Henry and Carleton gave up shortly after that, when Shawn’s mouth remained closed. Carleton couldn’t believe the younger Spencer was capable of staying so still and silent. Reluctantly, Lassiter gave Shawn a pen and paper and asked him to write his statement of the events and ushered his father from the room, locking the door behind them. Lassiter decided to get a jump on his own mounting pile of paperwork. It doubled in the last couple of hours…

  
Henry figured his son was grasping at thin air, hoping that time and perhaps the chief’s appreciation for him would be enough to worm his way out of this situation. He couldn’t disagree more, and worse, it seemed Shawn was tuning him out completely. When will his son learn? Deciding to move his questioning on to Gus, as his son’s best friend had always caved under pressure, Henry went to go track the pharmaceutical sales representative down as he knew the man wouldn’t be leaving the station without answers of his own.

 

* * *

 

  
It was three hours later when the head detective retrieved his partner, Gus, and Henry from the conference room where they had been discussing the possible implications of Shawn’s actions.

  
“We’re all wanted in the Chief’s office.” He informed them briskly.

  
They exchanged wary glances before following the taller man out of the room.

  
The blinds on Karen’s office were already pulled down and no one batted an eye when the group made their way inside the darkened room, fully expecting the meeting to be private. They were, however, a little shocked to see Shawn was already inside talking with an older man quietly in the corner, their conversation ended as soon as the door opened. Shawn held his statement loosely in one hand as he leaned against the back wall. Another surprise for the head detective, the page was full with neat and precise handwriting.

  
Shawn tried to shoot Jules a reassuring smile, but he wasn’t sure if the action became more of a grimace as he was absolutely dreading what was about to happen.

  
“So what’s going on?” Henry began with a glare at Karen now that he was able to confront her further. He had spent all afternoon seemingly answerless as Gus and Juliet had very little to offer. “Who is this?” He gestured to the unknown silver-haired man standing next to his son.

  
“Come in, all of you, and take a seat.” The chief began with a deep sigh. “It’s— complicated.” Only Juliet and Gus accepted the offered accommodations. Lassiter and Henry chose rather, to remain standing behind them, the latter crossed his arms as he narrowed his eyes expectantly.

  
For half a minute no one spoke or moved until the stranger crossed the room and held out his hand to Henry. “My name’s Nick Breighton,” he offered, “and I’m the Captain for Major Crimes, LAPD.” He informed them.

  
Lassiter stood a little straighter and Henry accepted the hand with only a slight hesitation.

  
“And just what, exactly, does Shawn have to do with the LAPD?” Gus asked defensively, while already trying to come up with a suitable explanation to explain away any outstanding warrants his friend may have earned in the large city.

  
Captain Breighton raised an eyebrow at the civilian’s bold question. “A lot, actually.” He replied with a quick grin at Shawn.

  
Shawn, who’s reaction to that was to deepen his frown further and glare murderously at the floor, looked up when he realized that Breighton wasn’t going to provide any more of an explanation only to see that everyone in the office was staring at him.

  
Oh. Damn.

  
Shawn took a deep breath. “HeismybossI’maLAPDdetective.” He let the words out in quick succession. “There, happy.” He said petulantly to Karen who’s eyebrows had disappeared in her hairline at his rapid-fire confession.

  
“One more time, Mr. Spencer, a little bit clearer, perhaps.” She told him with a quirk of her lips.

  
Shawn huffed. “Captain Breighton is my boss at the LAPD.” To his surprise, no one had anything to say to that although he thought Lassie let out a snort of disbelief.

  
“I’m a detective, ” Shawn continued when it seemed as if no one else would speak. “For the LA— ”

  
“What?” Gus finally bellowed out once his brain had caught up to what he was hearing.

  
“Obviously the charges will be dropped— ” The Chief informed them, deciding it would be better if she prevented the conversation from derailing any further.

  
She was wrong.

  
“You can’t be serious?” Lassiter interrupted. “You don’t actually buy this load of— ”

  
“I assure you detective. Shawn is telling the truth— this time…” Karen cut him off sharply. She fumbled with a metal box on her desk and removed the badge and ID for further proof.

  
Henry was livid. “Shawn if this is some prank, impersonating an officer of— ” He started to say when the ID was passed to him.

  
As if he anticipated their reactions, Captain Breighton produced his own police identification and assured the older man that he had spent almost forty years on the force. He went on to explain that Shawn is in fact a member of the LAPD, despite how remote he has been as of late.

  
Gus was speechless again and Juliet, poor, sweet, Juliet, couldn’t tear her eyes away from the shiny badge she held in her hand. Her fingers traced over the LAPD lettering, mutely, obviously deep in thought.

  
Juliet was fuming. She was living with the man; had been dating him for almost a year now and had known him for six and yet she didn’t know him at all… How could she not? She was supposed to be a detective, able to spot one’s deceit, and Shawn had played her, fooled them all… Try as she might, Juliet couldn’t bring herself to look up at the man she thought she loved. She couldn’t bare to see the truth of it all in his hazel eyes.

  
“When you were attempting to arrest me, Lassie, I claimed I was psychic, I didn’t want you running a background check on me. Honestly the whole shtick wouldn’t have worked out as easily as it had if Allen hadn’t been such a believer… Any who, the Chief and Captain got together and decided to roll with it, a deep undercover front; psychic detective.” Shawn tried to explain but it only left Gus and Henry more confused.

  
Lassiter muttered, “I knew it! You’re a fraud!” While a rare smile crept up his face.

  
The head detective’s revelation was drowned out by Juliet’s screech. “Another lie!” She had finally turned her eyes on Shawn for the first time since he had uttered the words ‘Captain Breighton is my boss’. They were sparkling with unshed tears. “I— I trusted you!” She accused, clearly torn between the idea of storming out of the office and staying to hear what other secrets her boyfriend had been keeping.

  
Shawn shifted uncomfortably and attempted to kneel in front of his girlfriend and beg for forgiveness, but was held back by a hand on his shoulder.

  
Breighton whispered, “give her time.” And kept him firmly in place. Shawn hesitated before obliging. Juliet choked back a sob at the close interaction she witnessed between her boyfriend and the stranger that claimed to be his boss.

  
“You hated the idea of becoming a cop!” Henry accused, clearly blind to the emotional turmoil his son and his son’s girlfriend were currently dealing with. “I don’t understand… why…” He added, looking lost.

  
“I tried to quit.” Shawn volunteered when it seemed as if his father couldn’t decide on a single expression.

  
Henry’s face relaxed into one of dawning comprehension at that . His son becoming a cop, he couldn’t fathom, but his son quitting a perfectly respectable job, that he understood all too well. So it was just one of those things he did because he could; just another notch among the fifty other in his career belt.

  
Henry tried to reign in his anger. “What do you mean tried?”

  
“Cap’n here, refused, put me on extended leave instead.” Shawn explained. “And when I started Psych I was considered undercover and on loan to the SBPD. Still had the occasional case to work down south, but mostly I did my _thing_ here…” Shawn emphasized the word by placing his forefinger to his temple, although the action lacked all of its usual gusto.

  
“Why?” Carleton asked. “Why not just transfer like any normal beat cop?”

  
Shawn laughed humorously at that. “I haven’t been a beat cop in sixteen years, Lassie.” And then his face darkened. “I told you _I_ wanted out. Tried to resign.”

  
“I wouldn’t let him.” Breighton butted in with another reaffirming squeeze on Shawn’s shoulder. “He was too talented; too good at reading the scene to just let him go, but he needed time away. That, I understood. So when I got a call from Karen two years after Spence had hit the road, inquiring about him working a case here, we discussed it. He’d go undercover, posing as a psychic. Shawn was still a detective, even if he was able to work from a private angle rather then directly under the chain of command. And frankly, if it meant he would keep the damn badge he had mailed to me numerous times during his leave, I was all for it.”

  
“It worked out well for us, too. In addition to occasionally assisting on your cases, Shawn has been able to look into a few things for me internally without anyone the wiser.” Chief Vick told Lassiter.

  
Shawn huffed out a laugh at that. “If it makes you feel any better, Lassie, I spent the first six months of Psych looking into you as well, see if there was any dirt I could find to get you fired or arrested.” He flashed a cheesy grin at the head detective. “As a matter of fact, I think you win our little unspoken contest as you did finally officially arrest me, today!”

  
Lassie’s face soured. “Yes, but it would seem the charges are being dropped… again…”

  
Juliet spun in her seat to stare between the two. Had Carleton had already forgiven Shawn!? How could her partner accept this so easily?

  
“Shawn!” Gus said with indignation. “I get why they were kept out of the loop,” He gestured to Lassiter and Juliet, “but me!? Why didn’t you tell me you went to LA to become a cop?”

  
And that was the crutch of the matter, wasn’t it? When the lying had started. Honestly there were a lot of reasons for his subterfuge. Shawn didn’t want his dad to find out for one thing, and while Gus would never knowingly betray him, Henry was a detective who knew how to obtain information. Also, Shawn was pretty vocal about being anti police department throughout high school. It was rather hypocritical of him to skip off to the academy mere weeks after graduation. And… it _was_ kind of done on a whim.

  
As Shawn had a GTA on his record (thanks, in part, to his father) he didn’t think he’d even be allowed to attend. But, Karen had made some phone calls on his behalf, the instructors gathered to see what Shawn could do prior to training, and it was a unanimous decision to have his record cleared so he could enroll. Shawn thrived, too, graduating top of his class, but he figured that statement could wait as he still had three sets of narrowed eyes staring at him.

  
“Listen.” Karen interrupted Shawn’s musings to bring the conversation back around. “I think you’re all in need of some time to absorb the information we’ve shared with you today, but, before I can let you leave, we need to discuss where we go from here.”

  
“We could really use you back in LA.” Captain Breighton chipped in, his expression becoming troubled. It wasn’t the first time he had said such a thing.

  
“You could always officially transfer to the SBPD, too.” Karen reiterated her stance on the matter. “You know I’d love to have you on the payroll, officially.”

  
Shawn shifted his feat guiltily. “I can’t. I can’t do it, I don’t want— The job, it— ” His stuttered protests broke off when his eyes met his father’s frustrated glare.

  
“You always have to do things the hard way, don’t you?” Henry spat. “You take your orders from your superior, not the other way around, Shawn!” He gestured to the captain.

  
Breighton, spotting the pending disaster, moved to step in between the father and son pair. “Take your time deciding Spence. I know this is hard for you.”

  
“I— don’t want to return to LA.” Shawn mumbled out.

“Shawn,” Karen began sympathetically. “We could go forward as we have been. Keep the Psych cover. Only those of us in this room know… For the time being.” She said slowly, sharing a stare with Breighton.  
“What do you say, Nick?”

  
“You’ll have to keep up on the paperwork.” The Captain began, contemplating the request. “And I’d like you to seriously consider that— other matter we discussed.”

  
Shawn froze. He wanted more than anything to go back six hours and simply leave his gun at home. He hated the way Juliet wouldn’t look at him. He couldn’t stand that Gus was staring at him in a new light. He dreaded the conversation he knew his father wanted to have. Lassie, at least, looked if anything only slightly disappointed and that was probably because Shawn was no longer facing charges. But he loved them. Loved it here. Loved Psych, and working cases on his own terms.

  
His job back in LA was dangerous, going deep undercover, sometimes for weeks or even months at a time. It would pull him away from everything he tried to build here. It wasn’t a job for someone with a family, with a life outside of the force. That’s what he had learned, that’s what Kevin had showed him even if it was unintentional. His… his _partner’s_ family had _suffered_ — to say the least.

  
The ‘other matter’ as Breighton phrased it was sure to be just as risky as any of their previous cases. To go under without Kevin was a scary thought. His _partner_ had taught him everything, and the idea of working with someone else… No, he couldn’t, he had already failed one man. He wouldn’t do that to anyone else…

  
Everyone was looking at Shawn again.

  
“I hate paperwork.” Shawn grumbled as he settled on keeping his answer vague. He didn’t have to accept the case in LA, even if Breighton wanted to brief him on it.

  
That earned a chuckle from Lassiter. Which reminded Shawn of his earlier statement still clutched in his hand.

  
“Speaking of, here.” Shawn passed the sheet over.

  
Lassiter and perhaps even Juliet were a bit shocked by the neatness if their eyes were anything to go by. Henry was staring at the object too, lost in his own thoughts.

  
“Okay.” The chief said to bring everyone’s attention back to herself, again. “Shawn’s cover is that of an eccentric psychic. It is important that you all maintain that. People here at the station have come to expect a certain level of— ” She trailed off, thinking of the right word.

  
“Pizazz.” Shawn offered with a wave of his hands and a wink at Gus.

  
“No.” Karen replied with a grin. “Not quite.”

  
“Blatant disregard for proper procedure.” Breighton supplied with a smirk at his young detective, they usually shared a laugh as they went over reports.

  
“Foolishness.” Lassie said seriously.

  
“Attention-seeking behavior.” Gus suggested.

  
“I’ll stick with eccentric.” Karen settled. “While that behavior may be the norm for Shawn Spencer, Psychic Detective, now that you all know the truth, I do expect a certain level of maturity when in present company. Try to keep your work above the board. And the rest of you, remember Shawn has a reputation to uphold, even if you dislike it.” Her eyes landed on Lassiter.

  
“Why not transition in to someone that’s more— honest?” Juliet asked the chief rather than Shawn.

  
Shawn replied anyways. “It’s sort of helpful. I’ve gotten confessions for you guys simply by accusing the perp and them openly admitting to it because they think I’m psychic and reading their minds…”

  
“It’s also, in the job title, I mean if we’re still going to take private cases.” Gus asked, almost pleadingly.

  
Shawn was incredibly grateful for the hopeful expression he saw on his best friend’s face and nodded.

  
“You toe the line with the law all the time, constantly breaking into crime scenes to investigate.” Henry accused. “As an officer, how can you— ”

  
“Spence submits detailed reports of his activities.” Breighton interjected. “He’s actually rather forthcoming in them, which has been more than helpful for the order and trial side of things.”

  
Henry hadn’t managed to close his mouth. But accepted the Captain’s response none the less.

  
“This will be a big adjustment for all of you.” Karen surmised. “Why don’t you finish up with that case and head home for the day.” She told Lassiter as she gestured to Shawn’s statement in his hand. “Detective O’Hara, I’d like you to stick around for a minute longer. I have something I’d like to discuss with you. The rest of you are free to go.”

  
“I need a word with Spence, too.” Captain Breighton informed them. “Privately.”

  
Shawn’s father looked like he too would like the chance to ‘talk’ with his son but Breighton quickly led them down the hall and into the now empty conference room.

  
“How’re you holding up, kid?” The Captain asked once the door was shut behind them.

  
Shawn thought about lying but honestly he couldn’t manage it at the moment.

  
“Karen was surprised you had your gun on you. Do you not carry often?” Breighton pressed instead.

  
Shawn shrugged. “Most of the cases I take aren’t that serious.”

  
“You know I actually read the reports you give me. I know exactly how serious some of your cases become. I didn’t give you back your weapon for it to stay locked up. But, I’m glad you had it on you today. Just in case no one has said it yet, nice work out there, you saved a lot of lives, detective.”

  
“Thanks.” Shawn managed.

  
“What’s on your mind, Spence.”

  
“Urgg. What’s not?” Shawn groaned. “Jules…”

  
“Will come around. You need to talk to her, and not joke around and skirt the issues, but seriously sit down and open up.” Breighton suggested.

  
“Have you thought about what I proposed a couple of months ago? Rumor has it we will be back in jurisdiction on the case soon. I want to be able to pounce.”

  
“Have you found your mole yet? You sure it’s FBI?” Shawn answered the question with one of his own.

  
“No, not yet. I’m actually relieved you’re staying out of town for the time being, you know incase I can talk you into really coming on board.” The Captain admitted.

  
“Do you plan on giving me the details yet?”

  
“You know I can’t, not until you commit to the operation, I’m talking months, including the ground work. I can’t have anyone in who’s not one hundred percent, it’s too important.”

  
“Come on, give me some credit. I know you’re working on breaking up the SOA. Feds are thinking about sending the case back your way because their last few attempts at infiltrating were unsuccessful. I’m more concerned about the motive for the federal mole? Are you sure it’s that high up? You did have those issues a few years ago…”

  
Breighton shook his head. “I don’t know why I ever doubted you’d figure it out.”

  
Shawn crossed his arms. “Before, before they knew, that I was well, a cop, I wouldn’t have even considered it, I’d be gone too long and they’d get suspicious…”

  
“And now?”

  
“Now? No, I need to fix things, fix my relationship… That life, it broke them, Kev and Sandra…” Shawn trailed off.

  
“Just keep an open mind.” Breighton told him. “From everything I’ve read, Juliet is one hell of a detective. She understands the job, don’t discount her just yet.”

  
That sentence was met with an even-eyed glare from Shawn.

  
“And I’ve overstepped the line, got it.” The Captain held up his hands in surrender. “I’ll get out of your hair for now, with one last piece of advice, listen, as much as you want to run off to your girl right now. She needs space. And, your father. He deserves some explanations.”

  
It took everything in him to prevent Shawn from slamming a balled up fist down on the conference table.

  
“Hey, I get it, you came to us as an eighteen year old punk, hiding secrets from your ol’ man. But it’s been years, Spence, give him a chance, he might surprise you.”

  
“He’ll never understand.” Shawn disagreed.

  
“Only one way to find out.” Captain Breighton crossed the room and opened the door in just a few strides. Sure enough a crossed-armed Henry stood waiting on the other side.

  
“Come on kid.” Henry barked at Shawn. “Juliet and Gus went home. You’re coming with me.”

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Shawn was surprised by how quiet the drive was. His father moved to open his mouth several times but nothing ever came out. Of course when Henry said they were going home, he meant his house, which was probably for the best because Shawn lived with Juliet and he wasn’t sure how welcomed he currently was there.

  
Shawn’s dad cut the engine to the truck and turned to face him, opened his mouth again, thought better if it, shut it, and exited the vehicle. Shawn, himself, considered his options before walking into the house behind him. The beach did look rather inviting, but he pushed that thought aside and forced himself towards the familiar red door instead. Once inside his father collapsed into a kitchen chair and finally managed to string together words to form a sentence.

  
“I thought you hated the idea of becoming a cop. How come you didn’t tell me you went to the academy?” Henry asked in a voice that was surprisingly calm and even.

  
“Dad.” Shawn said for something to say. “You want a beer?” He had already busied himself in the fridge knowing that he would need some of the amber liquid to make it through this conversation. He didn’t wait for his father’s response before placing a cold one in front of the older man and taking the seat opposite of him.

  
“There was a time when I didn’t think I wanted to go, and then I got that GTA charge and I didn’t think I’d be able to…” Shawn paused when he saw his father wince at that.

  
“But ummm, I talked to Karen about it. She was your partner for a bit there before you retired so she knew me and the circumstances, she had also transferred from the LAPD herself and knew everyone at the academy, they met me one afternoon, had me run through a few drills and petitioned for my charge to be cleared so I could attend.” Shawn surmised.

  
“I don’t know how you always manage to get around everything!” Henry muttered. “It’s like the rules don’t apply to you…”

  
Shawn huffed out a laugh. “ _Your_ rules, sure, but I think we can both agree that I’ve never been one to follow those.”

  
Henry gave him a sarcastic, mocking expression before he sobered up to a more serious face. “I didn’t know you wanted to go— to the academy, when I— I came down on you so hard for taking the truck.”

  
“So you admit it.” Shawn challenged. “I was just borrowing the truck.”

  
“Without permission and I believe you were drinking, even if you weren’t driving, you were still underaged.” Henry defended his actions. “But, I’ll admit that I thought you were squandering your talent by turning your back on the force. And look at you now, an LAPD detective.”

  
Shawn steeled himself to meet his father’s gaze and was surprised by the expression he was met with. Was that pride? It rendered him speechless as the joke he was about to crack got lost on the tip of his tongue.

  
Henry continued. “So what changed your mind?”

  
“Honestly?” Shawn asked. “After high school I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I just wanted to get away from here and— you, I was just so mad over the divorce, I blamed you and your _job_. That was the year Stan was shot during that armed robbery call, do you remember? You two were the first to arrive. You could have been the one to take the bullet, just as easily…”

  
Henry did remember. Stan Murdock was his partner for eighteen years, he would never forget that day. A routine call that became anything but and Stan was left paralyzed. The guilt tore at Henry. It could have been him, had he entered the building first. One of the many risks associated with his line of work…

  
“I was pissed at you. You could have died dad! And you went back to work a week later…” Shawn continued, speaking into the table rather than his father. “I went to visit mom after graduation, but she was out of town, a seminar in Chicago. She didn’t tell me, so once I got to her place in LA and it was all locked up, I didn’t know where to go. So, I called Dot— she did say, once, that I was welcomed any time, and it was the evening, dinner time, I was hungry…”

  
“Greedy kid. Didn’t I raise you better than that to mooch a free meal…” Henry interrupted.

  
“Ehh. They loved having me. I hadn’t seen either of them since they moved. The house had a ramp out front and they had taken some of the walls out to make it easier for Stan to get around in his chair. It was a little eye opening, made my problems seem minuscule in comparison.” Shawn admitted.

  
“I know.” Henry said gruffly. “I mean the ramp and stuff. Who do you think did all the work, we had half the station help them, finished it up in one afternoon... It was a shame to see them go, but they were retiring and wanted to be closer to Dot’s daughter in the city.”

  
“Yeah.” Shawn agreed. “I didn’t know that, that you and the station pitched in… well, you know how Stan was, halfway through dinner he asked me what the hell I was planning to do with my life.” He smirked. “I told him I didn’t know and he was all like ‘what do you mean you don’t know, didn’t you already ace the detectives exams?’” He finished the sentence in a poor imitation of Stan’s deep voice. “I didn’t have anything to say to that and you know what he did?” Shawn asked. “He told me I was scared. Called me on it. Said I was afraid that you could have been hurt instead of him and I was letting those feelings cloud my judgment…”

  
Henry didn’t know what to say to that.

  
“I called Karen the next day…”

  
“Hemm.” Henry thought to himself. “She was pretty new to the SBPD back then, I’m surprised she kept that from me.”

  
“Yeah but she was there for it all; the day Stan was shot, the day I was arrested, we didn’t talk a lot by any means, but she did tell me that you’d come around eventually and let me out of jail. I’m pretty sure she was surprised when I was still there the next day, felt bad about the false promises or something…”

  
“Sorry kid.” Henry offered and it sounded like he meant it. “So tell me about it! The academy, how’d you do?”

  
Shawn grinned. “Mickey was just a lieutenant back then, he’s Captain of the Training Division now, but he was all grumbly when he met Karen and me out at the school over one weekend. He took one look at me and barked that I was too skinny and almost walked away. Karen challenged him to a shootout instead. If I won he’d have to give me a chance…”

  
Henry was smirking now. “Bet you blew him out of the water, dead center on the kill points?” He knew Shawn was a good shot, even if he _thought_ his son didn’t like the weapon.

  
Shawn chuckled. “Better than that dad. I mimicked his stance and adjusted for the height difference. Our sheets were identical. Karen held them up to one another, the holes matched perfectly. Mickey thought it was a fluke and asked to go again. Three rounds later he finally made me go first. I put up five shots all circling the inner dot over the heart. I was trying to shoot it out, but alas, I still can’t do it… He poked it out with his pinky and declared me the winner though…”

  
Henry shook his head, what he would have given to see that…

  
“So then he told me to close my eyes and asked me how many hats were in the room.” Shawn finished.

  
“Re— really!?”

  
“No dad! I did a couple observational tests, and for the record not once during my entire time at the academy did they ask me how many god damn hats were in the room!” Shawn laughed. “But, I umm, aced those tests, you taught me well…”

  
“Is that so?” Henry peered over the rim of his finished beer. “So some of those lessons stuck?”

  
“Yeah, you’d never believe it, but my first call on the job was some kids in distress. They couldn’t find where the Easter bunny buried their eggs.” Shawn deadpanned.

  
“Oh you joke about it now, but how many cases have you solved with those skills?” Henry asked with a tilt of his head as he got up.

  
“Two maybe three tops, dad…” Shawn replied easily.

  
“Want another one?” Henry asked as he started pulling steaks out of the refrigerator.

  
“No, I’m good, thanks.” Shawn answered.

  
And then he kept talking. Shawn shared stories from his time at the school and his first few months wearing an uniform. He told his dad how he would solve the crime before the detectives even arrived at the scene when he was a first responder. It annoyed the crap out of all the detectives. Shawn was transferred to Robbery and Homicide not long after that, once they offered him the detective exam.

  
Shawn kept talking long after the conversation was moved outside as Henry lit up the grill.

  
“A little less than a year later I was called down to a scene and the perps were still on sight. They were arguing with each other and couldn’t care less about the handcuffs we placed on them, it just seemed suspicious so I called in a few more black and whites to transport them separately. At the station I told my Captain that I thought one of them might be an undercover cop and that we should keep them all in individual rooms both for his protection and also to keep his cover. It turned out I was right. A week later I was ordered to a diner to meet— ” Shawn choked on the words in his mouth. “Meet my new partner from Major Crimes.” He finished in almost a whisper.

  
Henry paused in his ministrations. He was about to tell his son to speak up, but the look on Shawn’s face stopped him. His son looked like he had seen a ghost, his eyes were staring off into the distance… Henry decided to leave the conversation there for the evening. He was still curious why his son wanted to quit. From everything he heard, Shawn really liked his time in LA. He was good at his job and it was interesting enough to hold his attention. But that discussion could be had on another day.

  
The two ate dinner in relative silence, but the air was so thick with what was said and unsaid that neither one noticed. After dinner Henry offered to give Shawn a ride.

  
“So, where to?” Henry asked. “Psych office or home?”

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Juliet kept herself composed and took a few deep breaths as everyone else filed out of the Chief’s office, leaving her in there alone. She kept her eyes trained on the corner of Vick’s desk. Anything to prevent herself from looking up and accidentally locking eyes with Shawn. She could feel his gaze on the back of her head. She knew her boyfriend wanted to talk to her…

  
She couldn’t be more grateful that he chose to refrain from doing so. The last thing Juliet wanted was to burst into tears— in front of her boss and coworkers no less… And frankly she wasn’t sure what her reaction would be to hearing Shawn address her; give a flimsy excuse for all the lies…

  
“Thank you for staying.” Chief Vick said promptly as soon as her office door was shut. “I had a conversation with you once, do you remember, about your _relationship_ with Mr. Spencer.”

  
Juliet did remember. It was months ago now, coincidentally right after Lassiter had discovered their secret. The Chief didn’t seem surprise, but she was oddly somber. She had warned Juliet, told her that Shawn was complicated and perhaps wasn’t the greatest choice of a boyfriend. At the time Juliet bristled with the informality of the conversation but respected what her superior had to say on the matter. Juliet thought about it for a while after that. Shawn was rather immature at times, but she enjoyed his happy go lucky personality— _usually_. Juliet figured the complications would come from Shawn’s psychic ability. That was always on her mind. Was he acting a certain way because he was reading Juliet psychically?

  
Now, she knew. What the Chief meant was Shawn’s lying to you. That Shawn is a big fat liar who lies.

  
She smiled to herself despite all the feelings coursing through her at that thought. That was a _Shawn_ phrase…

  
“I’m taking your silence as you do recall our little talk. We’re going to have it again.” Chief Vick continued. “Because even though Shawn’s truths have finally been revealed to you, there is more, that you still don’t know.”

  
Juliet’s head snapped up to meet the Chief’s eyes, which were staring intently at her.

  
“What— What other lies could he possibly be— ”

  
“Not more lies necessarily, so much so as omissions…” Vick interrupted. “Mr. Spencer was a very good detective. Imagine, if you would, how he can walk into a crime scene and read it, differently than either yourself or Detective Lassiter. He sees things from a new perspective, even if it’s not divined psychically.”

  
This only served to anger Juliet further. A reminder that the proof was always there, right in front of her eyes, and she couldn’t see it.

  
“That’s not to say that you or Lassiter are not good at your jobs. You’re wonderful detectives in your own right, some of the best, it’s just that Mr. Spencer sees things differently. He was quickly noticed by the top brass, and transferred to Major Crimes. In LA, the unit works with just about all the other departments, they jump on any case that needs a second look or a delicate touch, but they also perform stings, undercover operations, sometimes without the corresponding department being any wiser. It can be rather dangerous…”

  
Juliet’s stomach twisted at this. She was still so angry with her boyfriend for lying to her, but now she was seriously concerned for him as well. The sudden need to go and see that he was physically okay was overwhelming.

  
“He still is a member of Captain Breighton’s team, I want you to think about that.” The Chief continued. “But also, he’s seen how the job can destroy relationships. It’s not my place to say this, but I need you to understand who it is you’re dating. His father and mother went through a divorce while he was in high school. I knew Sh— Mr. Spencer back then, he blamed the _job_. Trust me.”

  
Juliet now found herself wondering just how close Shawn was with the Chief. But if she was being honest with herself, she knew Shawn had commitment issues. She wasn’t _completely_ blind.

  
“I don’t— I don’t know what you want me to say, Chief.” Juliet admitted once the silence dragged on.

  
“This is a lot to take in.” Chief Vick responded with sympathy. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off and maybe even tomorrow to think about things. If— if working with Mr. Spencer will be an issue for you, I need you to let me know immediately. You are first and foremost _my_ detective. I’ll remove his involvement from any of your cases, if need be.”

  
Juliet was stunned by that. The idea of not working with Shawn hadn’t even crossed her mind. He was such a constant in her professional life. She found herself stammering out that it wouldn’t be a problem. The Chief seemed satisfied with that answer and dismissed her.

  
Juliet suddenly felt everything from the last hour wash over her. The mental crash was almost enough to knock her to the ground. A funny thing to see as there would have been no physical reason for it, but she found herself being supported by a hand on her elbow. Juliet looked up into the bright blue eyes of her partner, Lassiter.

  
“You okay, O’Hara?” He asked in a low voice so as to not attract too much attention. It was sweet of him to wait for her.

  
Juliet glanced to her desk in the Bullpen and noticed that Gus was waiting for her too. It hit her, then, how this was a revolution for everyone. Not even Henry knew of Shawn’s identity as an LAPD Detective. She nodded to her partner’s question and he let her walk on her own.

  
Lassiter sat down at his desk and started to work as if everything was normal. Looking at him, most people wouldn’t be able to spot the difference. But Juliet saw the stiffness in his movements. Gus meanwhile looked like he was on the verge of a meltdown. If she had to pick one constant in her boyfriend’s life, it would be Gus. Just the thought that there was something that he didn’t know about Shawn, and it was such a large something at that, was mind boggling.

  
Gus’ head snapped up when she approached.

  
“Do you… do you want to go talk about it?” Gus asked, genuinely. The question may have been open ended for Juliet’s sake, but she heard what he meant, ‘ _I need to go talk about this!’_

  
Juliet nodded, thanked her partner and promised that she would be there in the morning ready to work, and left the station. Henry’s pickup was still parked outside. So it’s not like Shawn was going to be ride-less if both Juliet and Gus left together. And if the fact that that meant Shawn would be getting an ear full from his father made a smile come to her lips, well no one was the wiser…

  
Gus led Juliet back to the Psych office. It wouldn’t be her first choice of places to go, but she figured Gus needed the familiar place to ground him. She understood.

  
The two talked. Gus explained why and how they had started Psych, or his version of things which left off the fact that the Chief was in on the charades and that Shawn was an undercover cop…

  
Juliet had a lot of questions, mostly _how_!? How the hell did Shawn manage to fake so much? He knew things about the crime scenes that were seemingly impossible to know. It was interesting hearing from Gus how he would research things for Shawn, give him the basic background of a particular topic, and from that Shawn would glean exactly what he needed to discover the truth behind the investigation. It was extraordinary. Gus had said more then once ‘Shawn noticed’ or ‘Shawn saw’ something that no normal person would pick up on. And while it left her unsettled it was all at least starting to make some sense.

  
“I just can’t believe he’s a cop… After all these years, all the hard times he gave his father over the training his dad did to him when we were kids…” Gus said as he reached for another slice of the pineapple pizza they had ordered.

  
“Training when you were kids?” Juliet asked perplexed. “Henry?”

  
“Yeah he would have Shawn learn things, pick up on stuff, make him close his eyes and recount the room back to him, that sort of thing.” Gus said as if this was normal parenting behavior.

  
It wasn’t hard for Juliet to picture Henry teaching his son such things. It actually made sense, even if she disagreed with the severity Gus was describing.

  
Just then the door knob rattled and both Gus and Juliet stopped mid bite to look up as it swung open revealing the man that they had spent the last two hours talking about. Shawn looked smaller somehow, caved in on himself. He carried the silver box that Juliet now knew held his Detective’s badge with his ID number on it, as well as his identification declaring he was LAPD. She narrowed her eyes at the offensive object. The little bit of metal that housed so many truths that were kept from her.

  
Shawn took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” He said to both of them, but Juliet knew his eyes lingered on her for just a moment longer.

  
“Shawn!” Gus started before Shawn had even made it to his desk. “How could you? Why didn’t you tell _me_!?”

  
Shawn sighed. “When I joined the force,” he started and both Juliet and Gus held their breaths, neither one thinking it would be so easy to get Shawn to talk about it. “I initially didn’t tell you because I made a big deal about never becoming a cop. In high school I think I made my dislike for police officers, namely my father, but in general, pretty obvious. You had plans on going to college that fall and I found myself being woken up by an alarm clock at six in the morning every day to attend the very same academy I claimed to despise. And I _liked_  it! Like _really_ liked it. I found most of the classes a hell of a lot more interesting than anything we had learned in high school, I couldn’t admit that to you!” Shawn said to Gus. “I’m pretty sure you would have thought I was doing it as some sort of prank. And while the thought might have crossed my mind here or there; the idea of showing up in uniform on my dad’s doorstep just to see his face, or to pull you over and watch you stutter through excuses only to see it was me… But, I actually really liked the academy. I was good, and I didn’t want to contaminate that with my old self…”

  
“I guess I understand that. But you _never_ told me! Not even a year later!” Gus accused.

  
Shawn’s smile faded. “A year later, I was bumped over to Major Crimes. Things became serious rather quickly. I still loved my job, but I saw how it was affecting— my coworkers. It was difficult for them, and so much easier for me because I didn’t have my friends and family near enough to have to force that separation.” His smile returned. “I, uh, learned from the best, how to create a false identity; did a bunch of undercover work. I started sending you postcards talking about different jobs I used as covers. It was great because I was able to share a bit of myself with you, but you were none the wiser to the truth behind it.” Shawn admitted. “Karen and Nick and all of them really, they think I’m this straight laced cop with this completely fake goofy side personality that I adorn for the sake of staying under the radar. But it’s not true. While a part of me can be serious, I’m also that ball of energy you’re always reeling in.”

  
Gus nodded in thought. “Okay man, I can get behind that.”

  
“Im forgiven?” Shawn asked with a mocking raise of his eyebrows.

  
Gus tutted, “come on son.” And gave his best friend a look that clearly said ‘need you even ask’.

  
Juliet was speechless. How can it be so easy for Gus to forgive Shawn like that? Shawn turned his gaze to her.

  
“Jules.” He said in all seriousness. “I know I— _lied_ to you.” It looked like it pained him to admit it. “I know how much you value truth and honesty, with your— your father being who he is, and I’m so— ”

  
“I don’t think I want to hear another apology from you.” Juliet interrupted, her voice small. “It’s just another thing that’s so uncharacteristic, I don’t think I can handle much more, at the moment, honestly.”

  
Shawn nodded in understanding. “What do you want?” He asked in all earnestness. “Anything, you tell me— ”

  
“I don’t know.” Juliet forced the words out. She was suddenly aware that Gus was trying unsuccessfully to move away from them unnoticed. “Time, I guess, to wrap my head around all of this.”

  
“Okay.” Shawn said the word slowly as if he was contemplating the meaning as he spoke it. “I’ll tell Vick to keep— ”

  
“No.” Juliet said quickly thinking back to her earlier discussion with the Chief. “I think we should continue as if everything is normal at the station. I don’t want to be the reason your cover is blown.” She added more to herself. “It’s just at home, at our apartment…”

  
“I got it.” Shawn agreed quickly. “The cats and I will take the bed naturally, and I’ll make you up a soft spot on the couch… don’t worry you’ll get the second best pillow in the house, of course.” He joked quickly, but it was lacking his usual hint of a smile.

  
Juliet just gave him an endearing look in response.

  
“I can stay here for a while.” Shawn said seriously, “as long as you need, to, uh, —forgive me.”

  
“You don’t— you don’t have to move out.” Juliet found herself saying, although she wasn’t entirely sure of the words.

  
Shawn seemed surprised by that as well. He searched her eyes, looking for sincerity. Juliet felt the heat melt from her and didn’t realize when he had moved to sit so close on the couch. She groaned internally. Was she really going to forgive his deception so easily?

  
 _Buzzzz_.

 

The moment was interrupted by a vibrating noise she had never heard come from her boyfriend’s obnoxiously loud phone. And even more strange was how Shawn answered it.

  
“Spencer here.” He said briskly, followed by a quick, “yes, sir.” And that was it.

  
The call was over. Both Gus and Juliet were staring at Shawn as if he had grown another head.

  
“Captain needs to see me in the morning before he leaves town.” Shawn told them since they were both still looking at him. “Look. Now that you know, I promise to be more open and not hide things like that from you, either of you.” Shawn tried to assure them.

  
“You know what?” Juliet said a moment later as she thought about Shawn’s words. “I think I really just want to go home; watch some TV, go to bed early…”

  
“Alone?” Shawn asked hesitantly.

  
Juliet took a full minute to contemplate things. “No, no I think the cats would be mad at both of us if you don’t come home with me…”

 

 

* * *

 

Shawn didn’t say anything as he grabbed a pillow and a thin blanket and pushed Snowball over on the couch to give himself more room. Juliet didn’t ask Shawn to join her in bed.

  
Neither one slept well.

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Juliet barely slept. More than once she thought she heard movement from the other side of the bedroom door, but she couldn’t imagine what Shawn was doing up so early? Eventually, she forced herself to get up at seven in the morning despite the protest from her tired limbs and was surprised to see that Shawn had brewed her a pot of coffee. He also left her a little note saying he’d see her at the station later.

  
Shawn was never the first one up! And if Juliet did wake him with her alarm, he would certainly not use that extra time to get to work early!? He also didn’t drink coffee, something about his ADD and caffeine not working properly together? So this pot was just for her, then? It was the perfect amount for a cup and a half, exactly what she preferred on the morning after a long night out in the field. It was sweet of him, really… It was also another reminder that this Shawn wasn’t _her Shawn_ anymore…

  
A quick glance over to the couch confirmed that Shawn had left already. The pile of blankets was at least left in a heap and _not_ neatly folded. That would have been too much to take. Then the pile started to move! Magellan came tumbling out of the blanket and landed in a heap on the floor. A proud looking Snowball stood triumphantly on the top of the couch before she searched for the softest place to lie. Juliet smiled to herself over their antics and finished her morning routine to get ready for the day.

  
It was going to be difficult, pretending nothing had changed when she felt as if the world’s axis had tilted, but she was never one to back down from a challenge… It was apart of why she enjoyed her line of work as much as she did, after all.

 

* * *

 

  
Shawn’s morning was productive to say the least which was something as the couch provided a rather restless sleep. After yesterday’s lackluster performance in the jogging department, he figured it was time to get himself back in shape, and what better way to kick off his renewed routine than by going for a run. Back in his LA days, five miles was the norm, but it had been a while and he felt himself slowing around the third mile mark. It was probably for the best as he did have an early meeting with Captain Breighton.

  
The Captain met Shawn in the same conference room they had talked in the day before. This time, however, was all business. Breighton placed six folders down in front of him as they started the meeting.

  
“These are the only current federal employees who had worked with or for the LAPD in the last three decades,” Breighton began. “Or at least the only ones I have enough clearance to get... Those damn feds always pulling rank and claiming jurisdiction— Even the Deputy Chief wasn’t granted a higher access.” He muttered the complaint to himself.

  
Shawn raised an eyebrow at the thickness of the folders. “So you’re bringing me in?”

  
“You proved yesterday that you already know too much but I’m not necessarily grooming you for the job just yet. Either way, I want you to take a look and see if anyone stands out as suspicious. The SOA is definitely being tipped off. If it was as easy as following the money trail, I doubt the mole would have eluded us as long as they have. But there has to be a reason…”

  
Shawn grabbed the biggest folder and started thumbing through it. “It’s not him.” He said confidently as he placed the file down five minutes later.

  
“What?” Breighton didn’t usually allow his surprise to show, but this time he couldn’t help it. “How can you be so certain?”

  
“The Sisters get their money from illegal black market trades, right? Domestic terrorism? Selling our own weapons to the enemies, that sort of thing?”

  
“Among their forty years worth of heroin imports, yeah.” Breighton agreed.

  
“Well they started with a bunch of soldiers, right? Vietnam was tough on all of them, heroin was practically shoved in their veins or what not.” Shawn recounted the events of the war as one did if they had read a text book about it once. “...That was a million years ago, they’ve definitely found a new way to prosper in the last decade, ties to the Middle East now, I’m assuming…”

  
“ —Yeah… You know I served right, in Vietnam, before I joined the force?” Breighton said slowly.

  
“How old are you?” Shawn looked up in amazement.

  
“It was the late sixties! The war ended in ’75!” Breighton screwed his face up in confusion, not quite sure if Shawn was being dense on purpose.

  
“Hemm.” Shawn said to himself. “I guess Gus was right about that one…”

  
Breighton forced himself to find words, “You were born in the seventies!”

  
“True… Well, even if Mr.— Pentovich,” Shawn said as he checked the file’s name, “was tied to the Sisters of Adam back in the day, he lost his wife in the Trade Center during the attacks on nine eleven. And I’m being lenient here, but assuming the SOA didn’t move to profit from the Iraq War until it officially started in 2003, which I doubt because they’ve probably had movement in the area from the early nineties, but a man who has made regular donations to the memorial fund in New York is not going to continue to help an organization that has at least some ties to supplying the terrorist that caused him to loose his wife in the first place… Plus his daughter’s account has a monthly Navant withdrawal. She’s paying for college with student loans. Even if the mole isn’t rolling in dough, they wouldn’t be living like a regular middle class citizen, financially speaking.”

  
Breighton stared at him. “That’s all pretty thin…”

  
“Paper thin.” Shawn agreed. “But accurate, it’s not him. If anything, I’d say he has a good reason to want to break up the SOA.”

  
This continued for a half an hour and two more of the six suspects were eliminated.

  
“These leads are good, probable even, but I don’t think you’re looking for just one man.” Shawn said deep in thought as he leaned back in his chair. And I doubt it’s anyone so close to the actual espionage. It’s someone who is informed of just the basics the when’s and where’s but not so much the who’s… That’s why they suspect all the knew recruits, undercover agent or otherwise, until they weed them out... Last time you took a stab at infiltration, did you tell the DA’s office in advance? Keep them in the loop as they prepared the case?”

  
“Hemm.” Breighton considered it. “Perhaps remotely. We correspond with the same attorneys for all the major cases, as you know. You’ve worked with most of them, perfecting your testimony... Anything ever strike you as suspicious?”

  
“No.” Shawn admitted. “The last time I testified was eight years ago though. It was a mix of old and new faces down at the courthouse. That kid, what was his name, Cremebrulee?”

  
“Cramer?” Breighton interjected.

  
“He was really eager to get the bad guys, he did a hell of a job on the 551’s with that meth bust, asked for a lot of details… He didn’t mind meeting down at the diner, so that was a plus… That’s the only one that stands out, but I wouldn’t say suspiciously so, it’s just, that was— our last case together…”

  
Breighton blew out a deep breath. “Spence. You have to move on. You can’t keep trudging up the past— ” He stopped talking when he saw Shawn’s face. “Look.” He said changing tactics. “We’re humoring you, allowing for this Psych front to continue, but frankly the whole operation is a mess, and it will have to end eventually. You need to forgive yourself, it wasn’t your fault, and Kevin— ”

  
Shawn sucked in a lungful of air.

  
“Kev wouldn’t want you to throw your career away.” Breighton finished. The words weren’t said harshly but Shawn flinched as if he had been slapped with them.

  
“I’m pretty sure Kev would have loved Psych… ” Shawn said eventually.

  
Breighton smirked. “I thank my lucky stars everyday you two didn’t come up with this operation back in my city. I don’t know how Karen can tolerate half the crap you pull… Feinting visions while standing on her desk…”

  
Shawn cocked his head to the side. “ I don’t think I’ve done one on her desk yet…” He said as he recovered from the emotional wound that was opened. “But, thanks for the idea! It’ll have to wait for a big case now with Lassie and Jules knowing the truth, something with more witnesses and a reason to act out.”

  
Breighton backed away as if to distance himself from the plan. “Keep my name out of your mouth when you explain that one…”

  
“Aye Aye Captain.” Shawn joked but his usual glint of mirth hadn’t returned to his eyes yet.

  
“Keep those.” Breighton said pointing to the files. “I’ll see what I can do about looking into the DA’s office.”

  
“And the Attorney General.” Shawn insisted. “You’re definitely right that the mole or moles are in with the feds too. Their operations are virtually ran without LAPD oversight, so for them to not make it past the initial planning stages…”

  
“Right.” Breighton agreed, although he was doubting his ability to get sufficient access with his current clearance level. “Keep your phone close. I’ll be in touch.”

  
Shawn sighed.

  
As the two were exiting the conference room most of the station’s occupants were getting ready for the day, the clock on the wall said it was just past eight. Shawn being here this early was already out of character but he had planned for that when he arrived.

  
Breighton moved to leave. He carried himself with a level of importance that usually meant he could go unnoticed in these surroundings. But Shawn reached out a hand to stop him, smirking.

  
“Wait!” Shawn warned. “Come here.” He pulled the Captain behind a pillar, barely holding in a laugh.

  
Breighton was confused and had a long drive ahead of him that he’d like to get started on, but he obliged his Detective regardless.

  
The reason for the hiding was made apparent a moment later when Lassiter strolled into the office in his usual suit and tie, a cup of coffee already in one hand. He seemed if anything a little on the chipper side as he sat down at his desk and pulled out a file from the top drawer. He then reached for a pen in the SBPD cup that he kept on the edge of his desk only for his hand to grasp thin air.

  
Irritated, Lassiter finally looked up and noticed that his cup was empty; it no longer housed a single writing utensil. A frown crossed his face as he pulled open the drawer under his keyboard and started rifling through it. A second later he slammed it shut. His eyes darted around the Bullpen. No one else seemed to have picked up on the Head Detective’s souring mood, yet.

  
Lassiter dug into his pockets and retrieved a key ring and proceeded to unlock the bottom drawer of his desk. He busied himself in there for a moment before he bellowed, “SPENCER!”

  
McNab was walking just behind him and jumped. “I’m— I’m sorry, sir, I doubt he is here this early, would you like me to call him for you?”

  
Lassiter practically growled. “No!”

  
“Can I— do anything for you, Sir?” McNab asked, clearly terrified.

  
“No!” Lassiter repeated and then he changed his mind. “Actually, do you have a pen?” It sounded as if the words pained him.

  
“I do sir!” McNab replied happily. “I always keep a few extras on me at all times, I read while studying for the Detective Exam that it’s important to always— ”

  
The Officer’s sentence was cut short as Lassiter snatched the pen from the man’s hand. Lassiter spun around to finally get to work. Breighton chuckled to himself and turned to leave, but Shawn stopped him again.

  
“Wait.” Shawn muttered and he pulled an object from his pocket. A moment later the birdie he shot with a rubber band nailed its target.

  
Above Lassiter’s desk, dangling from the ceiling tile they were shoved into, were about ten or so pens and pencils. Shawn hit one of the pens hard enough to loosen it so it fell directly on Lassiter’s head. The Detective swore. Shawn flicked another folded up piece of paper, that time sending two pencils and another pen down on the desk.

  
Breighton shook his head and whispered ‘good luck’ before he snuck out of the SBPD prior to the argument he knew was about to ensue. He just made it through the door when he heard, “Spencer! Get over here now!”

  
Shawn saw Lassie follow the trajectory of the third birdie he sent flying and knew his hiding place was compromised. Lassie ordered him to get the pens down and then continued to complain about his method of doing so as each pen and pencil fell after being hit with their perspective birdies. In the end Lassie’s desk was covered with small triangle sheets of paper and writing utensils. The Head Detective was fuming.

  
“It looks like the _Spirits_ tampered with your desk again…” Shawn said as he sat down at Juliet’s. “Good thing I was armed today!” He added with a twirl of the rubber band.

  
“Why are you even acting like this? Did you forget that we know you’re not— ” Lassiter barked the question but he was caught off guard by the cold and challenging look Shawn sent him.

  
“Good morning.” Juliet greeted them both as she walked over. She took one look at the mess on Lassiter’s desk and turned to frown at Shawn. “Productive day so far?” She asked pointedly.

  
Lassiter saw the uneasy moments between the couple and knew that Juliet had yet to forgive her boyfriend. Given the state of his desk, he agreed with that decision.

  
“Why don’t you take your _Spirits_ and torment your own office? We don’t need you here today.” Lassiter said it as a suggestion, but Shawn heard it as the order it was.

  
“I’m afraid I’m rather low in funds, Lassie, I will have to solve your next case or twelve to support my latest invention.” Shawn replied cockily.

  
“Oh? And what’s that?” Lassiter asked, but he regretted doing so instantly as Shawn’s smile grew wider.

  
“Why a pen with a little mechanism in it so you’ll never loose it again! It will hum loudly whenever it is out of range from your desk! I thought of you during the design stages! We can go into business together and model them after your tie collection!”

  
Neither Lassie nor Jules looked impressed. Fortunately or not, that’s when Lassiter’s phone rang informing them of a homicide across town.

  
“Oh!” Shawn said excitedly. “Can I go?”

  
“Without Guster?” Lassiter asked mockingly.

  
“If you haven’t noticed it’s still the morning. Gus is probably on his route. I usually like to spend this time sleeping in, but alas the Spirits told me of your pen predicament and I had to come down to the station to offer my assistance. I now feel that this— _murder_ was the reason for the early wake up call…”

  
“We don’t even know if it is a murder investigation, yet!” Juliet reminded Shawn.

  
“Can I come? Please Jules?” Shawn asked her instead. It sounded whiney, but Juliet knew he was genuinely asking. If she wasn’t comfortable with working with him today, Shawn wouldn’t tag along.

  
Juliet turned to her partner to let him make the choice.

  
“Knock off the silly crap and keep your mouth shut.” Lassiter snapped. “And don’t touch anything in my car!”

  
Shawn followed the Detectives out of the station, greeting everyone merrily as he went. As soon as they were in the car, he dropped the false pretense.

  
“Thank you for the coffee this morning.” Juliet said pleasantly enough. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this way, as if she didn’t know what to say to her own boyfriend. She hated it.

  
Shawn just flashed her a smile. “So where are we heading?”

  
“Uptown. Nice neighborhood, so keep yourself in check and don’t touch anything!” Lassiter warned threateningly.

  
Shawn laughed to himself. “If it was a trailer park would I be allowed to disturb the scene? I’ll continue playing the psychic in front of the others, but once you order everyone to clear out, I’ll show you how I do it.”

  
“ —Do what, exactly?” Lassie asked hesitantly.

  
Shawn smiled wider. “Solve all your cases, including this B &E with the dead housewife.”

  
“Now you listen here, you do not— ” Lassiter’s argument was silenced by a call on the radio. It was the officers from the house they were reporting to. They informed them that it as a burglary gone wrong with the suspect on the loose. All available units were to be on the lookout.

  
Lassiter grumbled as he reached for his walkie. “Is the victim female?” He asked into the static.

  
A moment later an impressed cop came on saying, “how did you know, sir? She is!”

  
“Lucky guess.” Lassiter replied back as they turned on the street lined with miniature mansions.

  
“So, Shawn how’d you know she was female?” Juliet asked. She was curious but felt a wave of realization hit when she considered how just two days ago her boyfriend would have faked an over-the-top vision to give them the same information.

  
“Well, Lassie, you’re right. It is a lucky guess, but come on, we’re in a expensive neighborhood. Most of the houses here are probably paid for by cushioning office jobs that require weekday morning participants. Now, let’s assume the job is swanky enough that one of the spouses can stay home. And as much as I’m all for a lady in a pantsuit,” he winked at Juliet, “I’d guess ninety percent of the wives who live here are in their forties and haven’t held a job since they were their husband’s secretaries twenty years ago…”

  
They pulled up to the house, easily visible because there were several cop cars out front. Lassiter noticed a neighbor peeking through her window at all the commotion. She was probably in her forties… He suddenly felt the urge to kick something. Two uniformed cops were waiting by the door for their arrival. They had the victim’s name, Melinda Walker, and not much else.

  
“Okay.” Detective Lassiter barked, taking control of the scene. He glared at the officers. “I want you two to go talk to the neighbors. See if they saw anything, if you have a decent lead I want to interview them myself, escort them back to the station.”

  
“Oh come on Lassie!” Shawn interrupted. “I’m sensing we could get a homemade breakfast, perhaps even pancakes if we were to talk to them here.”

  
“What! No! There is no ‘we’ yet, I’m still not sure what you are doing here Spencer!” Lassiter rounded on him, playing his part.

  
“Can’t argue with where the Spirits tell me to go… even if it is the backseat of your car…”

  
Juliet couldn’t bring herself to join in their banter and pushed past them to go scope out the scene in the house. It did indeed appear to be a B&E turned accidental homicide. The window was broken and the victim dropped a glass cup, probably out of surprise. The house appeared disheveled. This would most likely be a quick case. Shawn and her partner entered, the latter taking great pleasure in kicking the crime scene photographer out so he can investigate. Shawn dropped his finger from his temple immediately once they were alone.

  
Juliet watched him, out of curiosity. He might have guessed correctly about the victim being female— and the break in, but Shawn _usually_ was right— eventually. She was interested in his methods. He just seemed to know things that were impossible to know. Even hearing about it from Gus the day before, she still found herself skeptical.

  
Shawn stood in the middle of the room and scrutinized the details as he turned slowly. He then tilted his head and went to go look at the pictures on the wall with great interest. Then he knelt down, produced a glove out of seemingly nowhere and picked up a broken piece of glass and sniffed it.

  
Juliet turned to her partner who was staring at Shawn with a look of unbelievability that matched her own. Shawn kept the piece of glass in his hand and went to one of the decorative pillows on the couch, turned it over and nodded. Then he abruptly spun around to address them.

  
“Well, I was wrong. It’s not a burglary— ” Shawn started but was cut off by Lassiter’s snort of doubt.

  
“You think they broke this window and slid it up to avoid cutting themselves on the glass and entered from there?” Shawn asked.

Lassiter raised his eyebrows as if to say and you don’t?

  
“True the window was broken from the outside but look at the latches. You’d never be able to reach them both at the same time and they are pressure released. Which would still be possible if the murderer had an accomplice… But she didn’t. Plus, what burglar is going to take the time to slide it closed after?”

  
“She?” Juliet questioned.

  
“Ah yes.” Shawn pointed to a photo on the wall of the victim with a beautiful friend of hers with red hair blowing in the wind. It looked like they may have been vacationing together somewhere in the Mediterranean. “She did it.”

  
Neither Detective looked impressed.

  
“Alright,” Shawn continued. “The victim has been having an affair, with the assailant. They’ve obviously had a disagreement, perhaps Mrs. Walker wanted to try and work things out with her husband, either way, the mistress came here for revenge. She poisoned the victim, here smell this.” He passed the shard of glass over to Lassiter.

  
“Is that chloroform?” Lassiter asked. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the scene in a whole new light.

  
“Yeah. Most likely they put just a few drops in the glass of water, enough to knock her out and stage the scene.”

  
“And the gun shot wound?” Juliet asked.

  
“Placed afterwards, also it appears they used the pillow to muffle the sound. Probably gave them time to escape unnoticed. She bled out slowly while unconscious.” He added somberly.

  
“And what makes you think they were lovers?” Lassiter asked, fully interested now.

  
“That lipstick on the wine glass on the table isn’t the same shade as Mrs. Walker’s, plus she has a nice smudge in the same color on her neck. They weren’t fighting today. Which means this was definitely premeditated. If the chloroform wasn’t enough to prove so.”

  
“You said the husband and the vic were separated?” Lassiter questioned.

  
“It looks like some of the frames don’t match up properly. Most married couples have at least one wedding photo on the wall, I’m guessing any with her husband have been removed and replaced with the assailant.” Shawn explained professionally.

  
“And you’re sure the husbands not at fault? Maybe the wine glass and lipstick smudge was from a late night affair and the husband came over early this morning to confront her?”

  
Shawn nodded. “There’s condensation on the glass, that wine has been sitting out for maybe an hour, tops. You’ll also find a red hair just under the victim. She probably struggled to position the body towards the window, given her petite form.”

  
Juliet quickly closed her mouth once she realized it was hanging open.

  
“So I would usually fake a vision or pretend the corpse is talking to me and pretty much relate all the same information” Shawn surmised. “Any questions?” He asked as he took the shard of glass back from Lassiter and placed it on the floor. He tilted it a fraction of an inch before he was satisfied that he had left the scene in tact.

  
Before either Detective could find their voice, Shawn’s phone rang in what they knew was Gus’ ringtone.

  
“Gus, buddy! You’re done early for the day? Great! I just solved a case— yep. A few more and I’ll have officially paid you back for all those expenses on your credit card— the vacation— with Jules, yes! Okay, okay fine— lunch? Sure thing.” Shawn hung up.

  
“Well, I have to hand it to you. I’m impressed. You just might be a detective after all.” Lassiter said as he walked through Shawn’s theory of the crime scene.

  
“Uh huh.” Shawn agreed with a smile creeping up his face. “Tell me Lassie, when did you sit for _your_ Detective Exams?”

  
“’97, Just three years after graduating.” Lassiter replied smugly.

Shawn’s smile grew wider. “You were at the station the day I was arrested, an uniformed cop back then.”

  
Lassiter’s eyebrow shot up, clearly he didn’t remember.

  
“I was in high school at the time, but I went to the academy that summer...” Shawn told him. “Took my exams six months later…”

  
Dawning realization crept across Lassiter’s face. It then morphed into one of pure outrage. “There is no way in hell I’m going to believe for one second that you’ve been a Detective longer than I have!” He seethed.

  
Shawn just shrugged his shoulders. Juliet was forced to look at her boyfriend in that new light again. She didn’t know what she thought about the idea of him being so… capable? Experienced? It was eye-opening to say the least.

  
“Jules?” Shawn turned to her. “I understand if you don’t want to, but Gus and I are going to go for some jerk chicken, would you like to join us? I think Lassie can finish up here.”

  
Lassiter was muttering to himself and did appear to need some space and time to accept this latest revelation. Juliet wasn’t sure what she needed to process everything and made the mistake of looking up into Shawn’s pleading eyes.

  
“Will you be okay on your own?” Juliet asked over her shoulder. Lassiter waved her off.

  
“You do have a murderer to catch.” Shawn added. He glanced around the room once more and spotted Mrs. Walker’s torn apart purse. It too was apart of the staged robbery. Lying next to it was a little black address book. Shawn flicked through the pages, landing on one with Lorraine’s name written in beautiful cursive hand writing. It didn’t have a last name like most of the other contacts and the address had a heart next to it. “I’d try this one first.” He told Lassie as he passed the book over.

  
Just then Gus came bursting through the doors. He took one look at the corpse and glared at Shawn. “You didn’t say there was a body!” And he turned around and walked right back out.

  
“You’d think he’d know better by now.”Shawn muttered to Juliet offering her his hand.

  
She hesitated before taking it.

 

* * *

 

 

Lunch was good. Shawn and Gus argued lightly over Shawn’s financial issues. Juliet questioned him occasionally too. Shawn expertly dodged having to give any substantial answers. It was fun… it was _normal_. Midway through Juliet received a call from Lassiter saying he found their perp. Turns out she was distraught over what she had done and confessed to everything once she was presented with the evidence. It sounded as though her partner was back to his usual less than humbled self too as he bragged about the easy conviction.

  
Gus had just dropped Juliet off at the station. Shawn was reclining as much as he could in the small car with his eyes halfway shut when his phone rang, this time with the Chief’s song.

  
“ ‘ello, Yes, we’ll be there. Thanks!” Shawn hung up and tried to close his eyes again, but Gus smacked him.

  
“Where are we going?”

  
“Oh, right, sorry. 101 Prospect Gardens.” Shawn said between stifling a yawn. “There’s been a hanging…”


End file.
